When we arrived before the N.E. gate, much delay took place previous to our being admitted. The escort kindly furnished by the Sz-wang carried passes for us, and besides this I showed the gate-keepers my commission. None but bonâ fide Ti-pings were allowed to pass in or out, and then, only after a minute search; and I noticed that all who entered or came forth carried a little wooden ticket at the waist, which had to be exhibited to the guard. The walls, although of immense thickness, and at the lowest part upwards of fifty feet high, were very poorly furnished with artillery, merely two or three light pieces being mounted upon each bastion, generally some 150 yards apart.
At last the warder-in-chief of that particular gate of Tien-kin (the Holy City), came to us, and after a severe questioning we received permission to enter. Passing through three high gates, under a tunnel at least 100 feet long, we stood within the capital of the Ti-ping. A sharp ride of more than half an hour brought us to the inhabited part of the city, in its southern quarter. Our way passed through fields of grain, interspersed with gardens, small villages, and detached houses. We passed many soldiers, each of whom halted to salute us as "Wa-choong-te" (foreign brethren). The southern part of Nankin was thickly inhabited, and seemed altogether of a better and more handsome style than any Chinese city I had previously seen. Many large palaces and official buildings occupied prominent positions; the streets were very wide and particularly clean, a rare thing in China; and the numerous people had all a free and happy bearing, totally the reverse of the cringing and humbled appearance of the Manchoo-governed Chinese. Upon reaching the Chung-wang's palace, I had no occasion to announce myself, for almost the first person I saw was my old acquaintance Le-wang, the Commander-in-Chief's adjutant-general. I introduced my friend to him, who, welcoming us warmly, carried us off, taking each by a hand with his usual frank and friendly manner, and so leading us into the palace. The Chung-wang, it appeared, was engaged planning important movements with several of the generals and chiefs. The southern half of the province of Ngan-whui, at this time (early spring of 1861) entirely under the control of the Ti-pings, was threatened by a large Imperialist army marching upon its western borders; and the Chung-wang was about to take the field against them himself.
The Le-wang, having to join the council, left us to the care of the Chung-wang's son and attendants, who certainly gave us no cause to complain of their want of attention or friendliness, with which they almost overpowered us.
Directly we were left to them, they took it into their heads that we must be hungry; it was no use protesting they were mistaken, because the polite thing in China is, if you want anything very particularly, you must persistingly declare that you do not. The cooks were accordingly set to work; and in a short time a table was spread; the two or three elderly officials seated themselves complacently with us, although I do not believe they were a bit more hungry than we were; and the crowd of youthful pages, sons of retainers, &c., formed themselves into an admiring circle all round. The Chinese have a wonderful idea of the eating capacity of foreigners, and the earnest manner in which the Chung-wang's pages pressed dish after dish upon us, as though our very lives depended upon the quantity of viands we could stuff with at once, proved they shared the common opinion of their countrymen.
Throughout the repast a regular flow of Ti-ping young gentlemen passed through the hall, each coming up to us and saying in a positively affectionate manner, "Tsin-tsin, Yang ta jen?" (How do you do, Foreign Excellency?) When the plates and dishes were cleared away, they came up and shook hands, and all lingered around us, each evincing the warmest and kindest feelings.
The remarkable kindness and respect I have always experienced from the Ti-pings, has long since filled my heart with sincere friendship for them; but in this I am not singular, for every European who has had communication with them has been similarly impressed.
The council of war having risen, I was very kindly received by the Chung-wang in the evening, who at once gave orders to prepare quarters for me and my friends in his own palace, and also expressed a wish that I should accompany him on his expedition. I then informed him about my betrothed, and the ladies of the palace, all eager to see her, kindly promised to take every care of her and supply every comfort and accommodation during my absence. When all the arrangements were settled, I returned on board with my friend, accompanied by the Chung-wang's son, Maou-lin, who, from our first meeting, had seemed to attach himself to me, and who now wished to remain with me on board our vessel till our return to the city.
Maou-lin, at that time, although only fifteen years of age, was already celebrated for his courage and leadership in battle. He was excessively fond of Europeans, always shook hands, and could say "good bye," "how do you do," and use a few other English expressions. His appearance was beautiful and delicate as that of a young girl, his voice the softest and most melodious. How great must have been the enthusiasm that could inspire a form fragile as his with a spirit so heroic! From his young and feminine appearance it would never be credited that he could possess such dauntless bravery in battle, yet have I seen him eclipsing the valour of the bravest men; danger and fear were feelings he had never known: brought up amidst the struggles of the Ti-pings for their lives, he had been a soldier almost from his cradle, and had become inured to peril and warfare. Brave boy! as I write of him his sweet voice is ringing in my ear, and I almost feel the power of his large earnest eyes. During some years I felt the brother he always called me, and thoroughly appreciated his beautiful character—brave, generous, deeply religious, affectionate and impulsive—I never found, even amongst my own race, one so truly admirable. And now where is he? If living, an outcast and refugee in his native land, the land he loved so well and fought for so nobly. If dead, one of the many thousand victims to a cruel and unjustifiable hostility.
In the morning I moved my vessel farther up the creek, and leaving her in the charge of the lowder, close up to the city gate, landed with Marie, my two friends, and Maou-lin, and proceeded to take up our quarters in Nankin. The Chung-wang's ladies received Marie very affectionately, and, thanks to her knowledge of Chinese, she was soon quite at home with them. In a short time the stranger girl was amply supplied with rich dresses à la Chinoise, a style of costume excessively becoming, consisting of loose petticoat trousers, and a nicely cut over-garment reaching just below the knees, tight at the neck, half tight at the waist, with loose sleeves, and a loose embroidered skirt, open at the sides.
The Chung-wang's palace was a very extensive and handsome building, only lately erected. Entering through an immense archway, supported by beautifully sculptured granite columns, the outer door of a large courtyard was reached. Passing through this, the covered way led direct to the grand entrance of the palace, with its carved and gilded columns, and roof covered with a brilliant representation of Chinese mythology. Upon each side of the spacious courtyard, a range of low profusely decorated colonnades extended past the front of the palace to the grounds in its rear. Over the principal door was placed a board with a gilded inscription, which told to what purpose the building was dedicated. The door itself was covered with huge painted dragons, and opened upon a court fronting the Chung-wang's tribunal. Here, and throughout the palace, the cunning of the Chinese artisan was thoroughly displayed, the stonework, windows, woodwork, ceiling and walls, forming a series of most exquisite and curious specimens of sculpture; while every available portion of the building was curiously carved in wood and stone; a work far from being completed, and estimated to occupy three years more at least. On either side of the grand entrance stood a gigantic drum, always sounded when the Chung-wang held a court, or for purposes of assembly or alarm. Immediately within the portals a magnificent piazza extended a short distance up to the open court fronting the tribunal, the roof formed of two immense domes, each one mass of gold and silver, twisted into spiral flutings resembling a shell-fish, peculiar to Chinese mythology. The domes were supported by a number of brilliantly decorated columns, twined by serpents. The Hall of Judgment, upon the other side of the stone court, was decorated in crimson, except the walls, which were hung with large yellow satin tablets, recording the honourable deeds of the Chung-wang, the compliments and rewards received from the Ti-ping king, and various moral proverbs from the Chinese classics; while, between these, tablets of stone were engraved with texts from scripture; the intervening portions of the wall containing a tablature of mythology, battles, and landscapes, similar to the decorations around the outer colonnades, and all illuminated in brilliant colours and with much ingenuity. The sides of the Judgment Hall were ornamented in the same style as the other parts of the palace, with miniature landscapes, covered with natural shrubs and trees,—peach, acacias, magnolias, with their powerful aroma, camelias of the most delicate hue, and others peculiar to China, all perfectly developed upon the most minute scale. Half shrouded by beautiful little weeping willows and the sensitive mimosa, diminutive porcelain cities rested on the sides of tiny lakes, sparkling with gold and silver fish; while here and there, hills covered with flourishing vegetation in one part, and barren and rocky in another, rose from amidst the trees, with several porcelain pagodas. The tribunal, the table fronting it, and the surrounding chairs, were covered with yellow satin, and directly behind and above the former a grand canopy of the same material, of yellow and scarlet, was suspended. The ceiling was hung with handsome glass lanterns and lustres, prettily ornamented with rich silken cords and tassels reaching almost to the cornices, the standards and banners of the Chung-wang drooped in heavy silken folds to the ground. Passing on from the Judgment Hall, after traversing several broad chambers, whose sides were filled with small offices containing secretaries, scribes, &c., another open court was reached, with an orchestra and musicians at each side; passing which, the Audience Chamber was entered; then the apartments of the palace officials, and another court, and finally the "Heavenly Hall," or place of worship; beyond which were the private rooms of the Chung-wang and his household. At the back of the palace a garden of rock-work, full of grottos, ponds of water crossed by Chinese bridges, and all manner of grotesque Chinese conceits, with a spacious summer dining pavilion in the centre, extended to the colonnade. The rooms placed at the disposal of myself and friends looked directly upon this, and prettier quarters it would have been impossible to find in all Nankin.